Satnews Editors Virgil Labrador and Peter Galace Nominated for Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award

Virgil Labrador	Peter I. Galace

SPRINGFIELD, VA, March 9, 2006/Satnews Daily/ — Satnews Publishers’ Managing Editor, Virgil Labrador and Editorial Director, Peter I. Galace have been jointly nominated for the 2005 Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award for their book, Heavens  Filled with Commerce: A Brief History of the Communications Satellite Industry.

The “Emme” award is given annually by the American Astronautical Society (AAS).  The award is named after Eugene M. Emme, the first official Historian of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA). The award was created in 1982 to recognize an outstanding book serving public understanding about the impact of astronautics on society and its potential for the future, according to the AAS. The 2005 Emme award winner will be announced in the summer of this year and presented during the AAS annual meeting in Pasadena, Calif. in November. The nominations and final choice of winner are selected by a panel of reviewers from the AAS History Committee.

“Heavens Filled with Commerce,” published by Sonoma, CA-based Satnews in June 2005 was the first book ever to be released that covers  the history of the communications satellite industry  from its beginnings to the present. The book traces the breakthroughs in scientific thought from Galileo to Newton that made possible the conception of the geostationary communication satellite propounded by Arthur C. Clarke in 1945. It covers all the major events that shaped the industry from Sputnik, to the formation of Intelsat and the road to commercialization and privatization of the industry that continues to the present.

The authors have been with Satnews since 1998. Virgil Labrador is the managing editor in charge of all editorial activities worldwide based in Los Angeles, Calif., while Peter I. Galace is editorial director based in Manila, Philippines covering the Asia-Pacific region.   For more information on the book, go to http://www.satnews.com/products/historybook.htm.